caulfield12

Well, might that have something to do with the fact that we haven't seen a well-managed Sox roster since the 2012 season...where we had to use something like 13 rookies and were leading the Tigers until the final two weeks of the season? I actually haven't noticed him doing this until very recently...and I think it's human nature to be frustrated, what's Covey's record with the Sox, something like 6 and 27 with a 6+ ERA in his Sox career...that's making Danny Wright look like Carl Hubbell. And he was exactly right, it was the end of the line for Dylan, at least until September. As far as adapting to the way the game's being played today, are the Sox doing that? Don Cooper? Renteria? I think it's fair to say that because it's an ever- shifting game....one decade, it's OPS (not even scouting college hitters in person at times) that started with Moneyball, then, it's pitch framing, or shifting...not it's all about launch angle and exit velocity and pitchers throwing predominantly fastballs and sliders. And it's not as if 3 outcome hitters like Adam Dunn or Jim Thome didn't exist in the past, it just seems that every team has 3-5 guys like that now instead of just 1-2. Every team's searching for an edge...now it's superpens, openers, pulling starting pitchers before the 3rd time through the line-up. Not a matter of better...and for many fans, it's not. There will always be traditionalists who hearken back to the glory days of baseballs in the 1950's through the 70's and hardly recognize the same sport anymore. Let's not forget, the average age of those whose favorite sport is baseball is 57 years old now. That means at the very least that they grew up with the game as it was played in the late 60's, 70's and early to mid 80's.

Yep, just don't get Hawkeroo reminiscing about that summer of '67 again...great manager back then too. The uniforms, the stadium at the height of its glory, the storied players like Aparicio, Fox and Pierce who were almost unimpeachable on or off the field of play.

Dear Lip Man: I feel your pain. Once the White Sox are in your blood, it's permanent. I was suspended for the first three months of the season and my life was in many ways actually better off. I read more, watched movies and t.v. shows, spent more time with my family. I started following the Padres and contributing at Gaslamp Ball, just because baseball has been with me my entire life and even when I am not following the White Sox closely, I'll follow the minors or the draft or the College World Series or even watch a Little League game. It was a coping mechanism, just like the only way I could tolerate the 2013-2019 period of White Sox baseball was to start following the Royals (I lived there in KC from 1997-2007) because I knew they were going somewhere eventually, as they played such an exciting type of baseball (like the Cardinals and Royals in the mid 1980's)...one that almost no longer exists today, and is inarguably the exact opposite of today's three outcome game you're constantly referring to. I love to watch the rookies especially, in the past....Puig in 2013 (that's when we started to be terrible and I had to find other aspects of the game besides getting upset about Adam Dunn, Kenny Williams or Robin Ventura), the Royals, fantasy baseball for most of this season. I've enjoyed watching Tatis, Jr., play very much....in some morbid way, I think it was bmaggs that said it, that was supposed to be OUR White Sox. Tatis, Jr. and Machado...the #1 or #2 farm system in baseball overflowing with pitching talent (what COULD have been had we doubled down in the Luis Robert signing year and spent another $25-30 million), what will likely to be the addition of a frontline starting pitcher utilizing the depth of their minor league prospects from 1-50. Every White Sox fan should have a place here. We've all struggled with how to be "ideal Sox fans" in this era...and it has taken a toll, in terms of arguing about how a fan should act or behave. Obviously, right now, there's a mix of optimism and negativity with the 50% in the realistic/pragmatic middle, although that 50% (the silent majority) often just lurks or isn't as vocal or tenable because a reasonable position isn't as tenable on an online message board. Your passion for White Sox history and especially the decade of the 1950's/60's/70's is (or at least should be) always welcome, and I've enjoyed reading your thoughts and picking up things from archived interviews of the past. Baseball, if it's nothing else (remember, the average fan today who ranks baseball their favorite sport is 57), is about shared memories with our fathers and families, playing catch in the backyard and "going to the big city" and sitting there is the stands at places like Old Comiskey or Wrigley Field and keeping score by hand...in the age fifteen years before cell phones started to take over our lives, just the sights and sounds and smells, the unforgettable crack of the ball off the bat of a great player that just had a different tone or of a rising fastball audibly sizzling through the afternoon sunlight. In the end, it's a game. It's neither life nor death, there are bigger issues in the world that we can no longer talk about in a civil fashion without both sides demonizing the other...I've always said the one thing about the White Sox I was proudest of was that fans came from all walks of life, all socio-economic groups and we had diverse teams and diverse fans as well, we were certainly not a typical Wrigley yuppie crowd there to oggle "babes in the stands" while drinking our Buds with our fraternity friends, but actually went to the park faithfully because of our team and the game played in front of us. I'm sticking with it because I believe in the dedication to his craft of Madrigal (who's as close as we're ever going to get to Nellie Fox), the raw talent of Luis Robert...no matter what I think or feel about the front office, it's not going to change my allegiance to the name on the front of the jersey, even as the names on the back ceaselessly change over the decades. All we can do is be ourselves, write what we feel...and realize no matter what, there's going to be a lot of people that might not like what we write, how we write...what we write about it, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't express ourselves as long as it does no harm to others. You need tough skin around here, and it's hard not to fight back when insulted or ridiculed or fill-in-the-verb (I did it again on Sunday after someone was snarky). Once upon a time, there was a Chisox.com board about 15 years ago with NCORGBL (my bigger enemy) and SAT46...who was a fan of White Sox history and the names of the past, just like yourself. You remind me of a much saner version of him...but reading those names and hearing those stories of the past or this day in Sox history always brought a smile to my face.

?Couldn’t find the rolling eyes icon...btw, is there an Audi club here as well? Maybe one of them can be a SoxTalk sponsor with all the high net worth individuals, like Rolex for the Masters and British Open.

And it’s even crazier to think that Kopech and Cease can simply be penciled in at 2 and 3 in the rotation and never worried about again. 3 starts ago, Lopez was doomed. 7 starts ago, Giolito was a leading candidate for the Cy Young. We won’t know until the end of the season, and even then...won’t know for sure until the first half next season. There’s just way too much volatility or lack of predictability with this particular group (who any of them could end up like Rodon or Burger with another major injury.) That’s why the rotation is screaming for outside support and leadership. There isn’t one team in baseball where six of the top seven pitchers (including Lambert) all have TJS in their backgrounds...yet such unproven major league track records.

Score won for the 49 and over crowd...

Well, Kopech is probably going to be in the minors the first six weeks next season, and Rodon back in July or August. You can never have too much pitching, there’s no such thing. All one has to do is go through the list of everyonwho has started a game for the White Sox this season. Besides, a month ago half the board had already given up on Lopez, now 3 starts later, he’s back to an integral part? Giolito #2 acquisition #3 acquisition Lopez Cease/Dunning (who probably needs at least 2-3 months in the minors anyway) Undoubtedly, one of those five will be dealing with injuries or ineffectiveness by the middle of May when Kopech returns after they’ve clawed back an additional year of control. Rodon can’t be counted on for anything...but we’ll just have to wait and see where he is at the end of July in his rehabilitation. If we were still talking about the Brewers, he’s be represented by Jimmy Nelson.

That’s easy, you had hope the owner would eventually get tired of losing to the Blue Jays...with unlimited resources. And you had your unprecedented 22 World Series titles or whatever the number to reminisce about. As well as the dreams of a new baseball cathedral to replace aging Yankee Stadium. And Donnie Baseball.

Well, Floyd, Danks, Alexei and Quentin were great while they lasted. Then the Core 3 that we later traded to kick off the rebuild. But drafting was largely abysmal and two of the most highly touted in Beckham and Viciedo flopped. Then the biggest miss of all, Dunn. Another obvious point would be picking someone who really wanted to manage, not just a caretaker. Not holding onto the 2005 core as long as they did, waiting for another miraculous series of acquisitions like the 2004-2005 cycle.

2010 they had a 26-5 run in the middle of the summer...2011 was Dunn’s disastrous first year, leading to Ozzie and Buehrle leaving.

Yes, because every one of our current top 7 pitchers (IL or not) other than Lopez has already had one Tommy John surgery...unless we are already putting Stiever, Dahlquist and Thompson ahead of them.

Definitely on Yates, but he’s also got one more year of control, and will be a “lesser abused” 33 years old in terms of wear and tear next season. Urias...but you’re selling for 50 cents on the dollar. The biggest issue is you have a logjam of similar players in Renfroe, Reyes, Myers (bad contract) and Franchy Cordero and Naylor who are blocked for playing time but have lots of talent. Margot is the only one who really can defend CF, so he’s stuck there until they can figure out a replacement. They will undoubtedly trade the excess for one high quality veteran pitcher while waiting on a handful of young pitchers to separate themselves....rotation, bullpen or trade. Also have Garrett Richards coming back from TJ.

Then we’re just differing on the quality/acquisition cost of that lefty, whether it’s Bumgarner, Ryu, Hamels, M.Gonzales, etc.

Levine claiming teams hot on the trail of Colome need to significantly increase their offers (Phillies and at least one other)...or the perspective will quickly change from one of subtraction to adding one more younger/controlled target (not sure Diaz makes sense with our minor league situation) for 2020.

True that, if McCann, Kahnle and Luis Robert/Abreu (via Paddy and KW) are all that I need to keep my job for at least another five years...sign me up.

Fine, name a playoff team other than the Mets with their future dynasty of young arms (2014-2016) that hasn't had veteran leadership in the top 2-3 spots in the rotation? (And I don't think anyone will confuse our staff with Harvey at his peak, deGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, Matz, Niese, etc.)

Morton has been one of the Top 3 signings this offseason...that would be a miracle. A week or two ago, Odorizzi looked like that guy. Someone else will think they can fix Wacha or Porcello.

We need a #2 and #4 from outside the organization. It’s very obvious, just as it’s equally obvious we’re not going to pay $200+ million to Cole. The ace has to come from our own 40 man roster.

And so would every contending team in baseball. Think what the Brewers could do, instead of Gio in the twilight of his career? Angels...Twins...Red Sox...Yankees...Rangers...Phillies...Padres...the list goes on and on. Not to mention the Dodgers, of course. And as long as fans don’t expect 2012-2014 Bumgarner.

Well, here’s the thing. If Collins was a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year this season out of that draft slot...with that 1-1 quote and all the doubters among professional scouts and baseball publications quieted, Hostetler would be joining Paddy (Adolfo, Abreu, Tatis, Robert) at near genius status. He might even have been headed for Hahn’s job, had Burdi and Hansen lived up to their first-year billing. (Of course, we leave out the long list of failed Latin American prospects since 2012 along the way with Paddy and pretend it doesn’t exist due to those four names.)

I was talking about beyond the obvious core players...there are three in the majors, three in the minors. A month or two ago, you could squint and see James McCann added to that list, but it seems we’re back on the Grandal or bust bandwagon again.

Ryu’s great, when healthy. Not sure the White Sox can afford to overpay based on one season of full health and disregard the rest of his track record. For a team with the budget to house 7-8 starters, he’s almost perfect, as long as he’s rested and ready to go at playoff time. But that wouldn’t be his role in Chicago.

Don’t you think we’re all jumping on the Bummer bandwagon too quickly? Look at Fry last year...he looked almost as dominant in long stretches. Or the career of Nate Jones. When it comes down to it, we don’t really know how he will pitch in high leverage situations in the middle of a legitimate pennant race. Not saying he’s Daniel Palka and empty stats, but we’ve seen a lot of false positives, like Yolmer and Delmonico...a really decent stretch from a Covey here, Engel looking like the best CFer in baseball for a month or so. There’s always that fear that it will just fall apart. “Poof!” as Hawk would often say. I’m not sure the last three years have added one position player who wouldn’t be the last roster spot on the Dodgers or Astros.

I guess...but the White Sox are nothing, if not predictable. I watched Bumgarner for most of his start yesterday, and those wanting him or Hamels are going to end up disappointed. We invariably get those veterans 3-5 years too late, when they’re more of a big name than an All-Star. Realistically, the odds of him leaving the NL and choosing the White Sox are slim.

If it’s not Gonzales, who are the two pitchers we can realistically get...because we're going to need at least two?